Smoking Ban in Bingo Halls Sparks Online Debate

The imminent smoking ban in England is causing fears in the bingo industry that there will be a drop in players and turnover causing bingo halls to close. Despite the criticism, an online discussion point has been started in a bid to get the bingo players perspective and to start a healthy debate surrounding the issue.

July 1st sees the introduction of the smoking ban in bingo halls, casinos, and working men's clubs in England. This has attracted opposition from lobbyist groups who resent this being forced on what are private member's clubs.

The smoking ban has already been in effect in Scotland for some time, and was recently introduced in Wales. The consequences in Scotland have been tough for bingo halls at least, where a drop in player numbers and turnover has led to a significant number of them closing down. Another interesting observation is that smokers were less likely to play the slot machines between bingo games, a lucrative activity for the bingo halls, and instead opted to smoke outside.

By law these can only be at most 50% covered, which is not very pleasant in the harsh British climate for most of the year. As a result the bingo industry is bracing itself for the impact in England too.

However the thoughts of many are not with those enjoy the profits from the bingo industry, but with the bingo players themselves. Leading online bingo guide Bingo Power has set up a discussion point where the issue of banning smoking in bingo halls is being debated.

Ivan Hernandez, co-founder of Bingo Power said, "It is important to let people have a voice when their lives are going to be affected in such a way, whether that change impacts them in a positive or negative way. Bingo Power decided to start this discussion for this reason and to stimulate a healthy debate amongst the online bingo community."

The online bingo industry has grown exponentially in last few years and is now expected to grow further because of the ban.

"The standard demographic of bingo players has become much more used to using the Internet as a medium to play bingo and they are much more knowledgeable to the options available to them. This can only be good in terms of player choice, security, and satisfaction, a fact that is reflected by the numerous reputable bingo sites available to online bingo players these days as seen in Bingo Power" Ivan Hernandez adds.

It remains to be seen to what extent the online bingo industry will benefit from the smoking ban. The only certainty amongst all the figures of doom and gloom in the industry is the fact that come July 1st, the local bingo hall will become a very different place for many.